The Superhero's Glitch by Lucas Flint

Author:Lucas Flint [Flint, Lucas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult, superheroes
Publisher: Secret Identity Books
Published: 2018-10-09T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“What?” I said, taking a step back from Mecha Knight. “Did you say you wanted to destroy the Vaultwork?”

Mecha Knight nodded. “Of course. There is no need to repeat what I said. Bait and Switch here can hear you just fine.”

“No, that’s not what I—” I shook my head. “Why do you want to destroy the Vaultwork?”

Mecha Knight turned around, facing the darkness deeper down the tunnel. “It’s the only way to ensure Holly’s destruction. By destroying the Vaultwork, I can ensure that Holly will never be able to escape into the Internet, which is where she wants to be.”

“How do you know Holly is trying to escape the Vaultwork?” I said. “When she kidnapped Val, she never mentioned anything about that.”

“Because she has already tried it once,” said Mecha Knight. He glanced over his shoulder at me. “She attempted to escape through my own connection to the Vaultwork. She nearly succeeded, too, but I shut down the connection before she could complete the transition, thus trapping her here. But I know she hasn’t given up, and she never will, not as long as her AI is active, anyway.”

“If Holly escaped the Vaultwork, would that really be a bad thing?” asked Bait with a slightly hesitant tone. “I mean, not saying I think she should do it, but—”

“It would be a very bad thing,” said Mecha Knight. “Almost apocalyptic, because Holly would use her access to the Internet to wreck civilization as we know it. She is a virus that needs to be stamped out. Indeed, I believed she was already stamped out a long time ago, but recent events have shown that I was wrong to believe that.”

“Why would Holly want to destroy everything?” I said. “That doesn’t make sense. Is she like Freya, just bitter and angry at Dad for trapping her in the Vaultwork?”

Mecha Knight shook his head. “No. Freya was driven by her emotions, emotions she largely had no control over. Holly, on the other hand, is a force of destruction by nature. As a virus, she takes pleasure in corrupting and destroying things. She is driven by instinct rather than reason or emotions, which makes her far more dangerous than Freya could ever hope to be.”

“I see why you would want to destroy her, but destroying the entire Vaultwork seems excessive,” I said. “Shouldn’t you just delete her files or something?”

“I agree,” said Switch. “I’m not a big fan of this game, mind you, but I always thought you dealt with viruses by using anti-malware software.”

Mecha Knight sighed and turned around to face us again, still wearing a serious expression on his face. “You don’t understand. There is not a single anti-malware software in the world that can delete what Holly has become. She is a combination of a virus and Genius’ own assistant AI program, which is a nearly unstoppable combination. Even now, years later, most computers would be unable to withstand a direct attack from her.”

“I still don’t see why the Vaultwork itself must be destroyed, though,” I said.

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